I’ve been engaged in some kitchen alchemy! It’s been an unusually rainy spring and summer in New York. It seems like the dark layer of clouds may have finally burned off in mid July, but my weekly farmshare has been expressing the extreme wet of months and weeks just past. The farmshares have been heavy with vegetables that are basially water storage systems. I’m talking about cucumbers, Zucchini and summer squash. Each week, I’ve been eating a half dozen of the best cucumbers I’ve ever tasted, sliced and raw. No alchemy needed. But I’ve also been making crispy zucchini and creamy leek fritters with herbs, which are pretty magical in my opinion. I like to have them for breakfast with smoked salmon, sour cream and capers, or with feta and Ajvar. Either way, they are served with a pile of sliced cucumbers. These fritters are also good as cold leftovers for lunch, with a salad.

Part of why this recipe feels magical is that I am actually allergic to zucchini (In case you have ever wondered why there are no zucchini recipes on this blog). I didn’t know that I was allergic to zucchini until I was in my 30s, when I was incformed that zucchini is in fact NOT a spicy vegetable. Appearantly zucchini is sweet and bland?!? Once I realized that the burning in my mouth was an allergic reaction, I stopped trying to eat it. However, I do not get to choose the vegetables that come in my farmshare, and zucchini is famously plentiful in the summer. For years I would use the farmshare swap box to trade my zucchinis for literally anything else. Then, for 2 years during the pandemic, there was no option to swap, so I tried to figure out how I could prepare and eat all the zucchini.

The solution turned out to be simple. It’s a common preparation where you shred and salt the zucchini, let it sweat for 10 minute, and then squeeze as much liquid out of it as you can. This technique of removing liquid is used in recipes where the goal is to to fry or crisp up the zucchini and avoid sogginess. Whatever it is that irritates my mouth, is in the liquid and using this technique gets rid of most of it. I prefer crispy over soggy anyway!

Now, I make and eat a lot of zucchini fritters, ideally with Leeks. Look, you don’t have to use leeks in this recipe. Scallions or minced onions would be fine, but leeks are better. I am in love with leeks and I realize that it has not been that long since my last “love letter to leeks” blog post. Here me out- I actually have new things to say about why leeks are so wonderful. Leeks add a creamy texture to anything they are added to. You know how, when you are slicing leeks, the layers sometimes get dangerously slippery? My theory is that the unctious juice that makes leeks a bit annoying to slice, is exaclty what allows the to make everything creamy. Leeks are just magic!

Somehow, I have manange to make a post that, so far, is about zucchini juice and leek juice. I’m sorry. I realize that it’s not very appetizing, but it does go to my theme of how the vegetables I have been cooking with this summer are essentially vessels for the insane amount of rain that has fallen in my region over the last few months.

Zucchini and Leek Fritters with Herbs

Fritter Ingredients

• 1 pound zucchini (or yellow summer squash)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 and 1/2 cup sliced leeks (white and pale green part. See this post for tips on how to clean and slice leeks)
• 1/3 cup fresh herbs chopped (Use whatever leftover herbs need using up! I like basil, dill, tarragon and parsley. A mix is lovely)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup flour (I use my gluten free sorghum and millet mix)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• a bit of paprika (optional, but very nice)
• oil for the pan

1. Grate the zucchini into a bowl. Use a food processor if you have one (I do not). Toss it with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and let it sit for 10 minutes.
2. While the zucchini wilts, whisk the leeks, herbs and eggs together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix the four, baking powder, salt, pepper and paprika together.
3. Strain the zucchini in cheescloth, muslin or clean, thin kitchen towel. Really twist it to get as much of the liquid out as you can. I think you could do this in a fine mesh sieve as well. Discard the salty zucchini juice.
4. Start the oil warming in a frying pan over high flame.
5. Mix the zucchini shreds into the leek, herbs and egg mixture. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine into a batter.
6. Divide the batter into 6 piles in the hot oil. Cook until they are crispy on the first side, then flip and crisp up on the second side (about 3 minutes on each side). Then, turn the heat down to medium/low and let them cook a bit longer to be sure that they are cooked through. I usually make my toppings while the fritters are finishing on the lower temp.

Topping ideas

• Sour cream, smoked salmon, dill
• Feta, ajvar, cucumbers, tomatoes
• Hollandaise, capers, tarragon
• Avocado, hot sauce, crema, cilantro